Comments by wonarrowfan
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Posted on November 19 at 8:40 a.m.
All the blaming and hate toward the churches! I voted yes and not because of any religeous reasons. The no-on-eight crowd can't live w/ the decision, so they spew hate at anything in their path: churches and blacks. Rochell has exposed herself as an immature sore loser at best, and a vindictive hate-monger at worst. Prop 8 foes failed because the issue was never about "rights"; only about a desire to rub same-sex marriage in everyone's nose, "whether they like it or not!."
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Posted on October 16 at 8:09 a.m.
I heard Juarez faces 22 years max, which includes a mandatory 10 years for being a gangster. I sure don't call that winning!! HG's analysis smacks of loser ganster-criminal logic that "If I got away with anything, I got away with everything." I'm waiting for HG's intelligent analysis of yesterday's huge gang sweep directed at dozens of other gangsters. I'm sure most of them won't get the absolute maximum, so HG will have plenty more to celebrate!!
Posted on September 22 at 2:18 p.m.
Why trip to Mass?? For ugly uninspired art just stroll State Street! Plywood-plexiglass-stuffed animals?? Grated bins of old cans?? Giant ice-creme-cone?? Silver-metal-abstract-original-but-stupid?? Makes me long for McDonald's arches shot full of arrows or the good ol' dinosaur poop!! The best art in years were the fish that while artistic and clever, would be more at home in Placerville than a world-class resort destination. Recent trip to Italy: WOW WOW WOW!! Why can't SB display talanted works that don't require a snooty artsy-fartsy explanation???
Posted on July 10 at 9:46 a.m.
Hi Jonathon Smith; I totally agree with you that the fickle winds play a huge role on how fires intrude into urban areas. The only certainty is that the winds occur with regularity and always pose intense fire hazards. Improved building regs (fireproof roofs for one) play a very important role in protecting houses. Urban firebreaks sounds great, but remember the Paint fire roared across Hwy 101/Calle Real; about 200 feet of concrete firebreak. Despite tons of education, pleas, and common sense, many of the rural home owners refuse to clear their own property of inflammable brush. Be mindful that public ownership of formally private property sounds real great too, but removes the revenue (taxes) while adding expense (maintenance and liability) to government. Every purchase of land for yet another "greenspace" strains the governemnt budget and reduces funds for everything else. If you look at a detailed map of SB County, you will see that about 90% is already public land, most of which is scarcely utilized.
Posted on July 10 at 7:40 a.m.
Thanks poodle for the research, but I'm puzzled. Which lesson do we follow? Did Zaca burn because of a lack of agricultural development or a lack of firefighters? Remember that agriculture and development provides access roads into otherwise inaccessible wilderness. Zaca, and now the Gap fire was stopped only where vehicles could access. The National Forest's policy of no vehicles in the wilderness stymied all firefighting efforts until the Zaca fire burned to the roads (Paradise Rd. above us, 133 to the East, and 166 to the North.) Similar "ecological" policies contributed to last year's disaster at Lake Arrowhead and elsewhere. It's time to re-think policies of leaving wilderness areas "untouched and unspoiled." Managed development supported by (gasp) profit driven companies would have made the Zaca fire a footnote, not headlines. The alternative: ashy clearcutting far, far worse than what any rancher or farmer would do. For the record, how many protected oak trees were consumed, and just what was the carbon footprint of these fires? I find vocal opposition to the small harm of managed development (ignoring the benefits) while shrugging off the vast damage of wildfires both hypocritical and ignorant of the forces of nature.
Posted on July 8 at 9:14 a.m.
What I find vexing is the absence of honest discussion about the roots of why these kids become violent gangmembers. I mean, I attended SBHS which was (and still is) filled with underachieving Hispanic kids who don't put effort into studying and avoid mainstream youth activities. Their only ambition was to "kick it" with their friends and do as little as possible to get by. Now, kids goofing off is nothing new. What is pervasive with the underachieving Hispanic kids is intense peer pressure to fail, and a refusal to take guidance/direction from any non-Hispanic. If you don't believe me you should spend a few hours with a special education teacher or counselor. I've spoken with many parents of these underachieving kids. To them, mediocre is successful, and failure is OK so long as they don't wind up in prision. I bet anyone dollars-to-donuts that the arrested kids are/were at the bottom of their academic class, were not involved in organized sports, and would not participate in the many local youth acitivies. I remain amazed that there is so little investment by the local Hispanic leadership to mentor these kids. Instead, much of the vocal Hispanic leadership is overly sensitive to perceived prejudice, while largely ignoring the rampant Hispanic-on-Hispanic crime problem. Just like in the Linares homicide case, I'm waiting for the Hispanic professors at UCSB and the leadership at La Casa de la Raza to weigh in on how gently the suspects should be treated. A legacy of failure, good grief!!!
Posted on January 25 at 8:04 a.m.
I was surprised that the Indy gave Kim Seefeld's opinion piece the same prominence as an unbiased story from a reporter. And the title "Justice Denied"; was that Seefeld's choice of words or, like most editorials, the editor's decision? This case has much in common with another recent sexual assault case involving a poor West African man who also became a promising student at UCSB. A Mr. Kafatia (sp?), who took advantage of a tipsy woman while working security for SBCC. Like Frimpong, Kafatia had numerous supporters who could not or would not believe that he was capable of such actions. Mr. Kafatia was convicted of rape in an SB courtroom, presided by a different judge. Obviously there are substantial cultural differences on how men relate to women in West Africa as compared to a U.C. environment. Who is guiding these men in these dangerous relationship waters? As for Ms. Seefeld, what is her relationship to the defendent or the defence effort? Can she be unbiased? Based on the lack of a balanced approach to her "facts", I conclude she is biased, unable to accept the verdict, and, essentially, a zealot.
Posted on August 24 at 3:07 p.m.
I love all the suggestions that lines should be painted all over town to mark fire danger zones, gang turf lines, the most dangerous intersections, etc. I mean, these are here and now problems, not speculation about the future. (Is it 20 feet in 100 or 1,000 years...I forget...) The ocean level hasn't risen significantly in half a century. The point is the blue line idea has proven horribly devisive. Sure, there's more discussion on the topic, but from my vantage point it hasn't convinced anyone to change their mind. I feel sorry for those who choose to blame the NP for stoking the fire, and those unwilling to see that the blue line project shoulda been dropped weeks ago.
Posted on August 17 at 8:21 a.m.
How did the NP trial blog turn into a bitter war of words between truth_machine and billclausen??? A notice to any of you bloggers taking a hard line... Some people will disagree with you. Get over it!!
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Posted on November 19 at 12:52 p.m.
Hey! Maybe the powers that be can legislate the exact same rights for civil unions as for marriage. Dem President, Senate and House; should be easy! Then we can all shut up about marriage and equality. Can everyone agree with this??
On Dear Prop. 8 Supporters